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Barry Ubbels
Barry
Ubbels
Peter Nijkamp
Peter
Nijkamp
Erik Verhoef
Erik
Verhoef
Stephen Potter
Stephen
Potter
Marcus Enoch
Marcus
Enoch
Alternative ways of funding public transport
Loughborough University
2008
untagged
Built Environment and Design not elsewhere classified
2008-09-08 08:38:50
Journal contribution
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Alternative_ways_of_funding_public_transport/9438614
Public transport traditionally has been, and still is, heavily subsidised by local or national
governments, which have been motivated by declining average cost arguments, social
considerations, and the desire to offer an alternative to private car use. Conventional
sources for funding, including general taxes on labour, in many occasions have become
harder to sustain for various reasons. This paper explores alternative, increasingly
implemented, sources of funding, i.e., local charges or taxes that are hypothecated to
support (urban) public transport (such as local sales taxes, parking charges etc.). Based on
an overview of several case-studies all over the world, it is found that there is a large
potential for applying unconventional charging mechanisms. Not only as means of raising
financial support for public transport systems, but also as a method of sending appropriate
(from a sustainable point of view) pricing signals to transport use.